1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to fishing lures.
2. Description of the Background
A number of efforts in the prior art have been directed at providing a lure which will produce a rattling sound as it is moved through the water. However, the resulting lures have suffered from one or more of a number of disadvantages. One of these is complication of construction. Another is lack of versatility: either the lure had a rattle, or it did not; it could not be converted from rattling to non-rattling forms. Even in those cases in which a more or less ordinary lure could be modified to receive a rattle, the procedure for mounting the rattle on or in the lure was troublesome and not easily reversed. Another problem is that, in some designs, the rattle is affixed externally to the lure body, where it is vulnerable and may also affect the action of the lure in the water. Still another problem with many prior art rattling lures is that the form of the rattle, and/or the way in which it has to be mounted on or in the lure, restricts the available space for movement of the relatively moving parts of the rattle, thus also limiting the sound which could be produced thereby.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,909,974 illustrates several of these problems. The lure is of the weighted head type, i.e. having a hard, solid head, typically of a heavy metal, and from which a hook depends. A flexible body portion can be removably mounted on the hook. The rattling means are permanently mounted in a cavity in the head, with the head in turn being fairly complicated to manufacture and assemble. Also, the space available for relative movement of the rattling means is restricted.
U.S Pat. Nos. 3,988,851 and No. 4,203,246 disclose a form of rattle which is intended to be selectively emplaced on or in conventional lures. However, the process of doing this is troublesome. In order to mount the rattle in a lure body, a hole must be formed, either by drilling or by pushing with a sharp instrument, depending upon the hardness of the lure body. The form of the rattle case must be narrow, so it can fit in the kind of hole the user can make in this manner, and this shape restricts relative movement of the rattle means therein. After the rattle is emplaced in the lure body, the body must be sealed so that the rattle cannot escape, either by pinching together a soft lure body or by plugging a hard lure body. This is likewise troublesome, and also makes it difficult, if not virtually impossible, to return the lure body to its original form if desired.
The latter two patents also contemplate that the rattle could simply be glued or taped to the outside of a lure body. Clearly, this would also be troublesome, and could affect the action of the lure in the water. In addition, it would make the rattle more vulnerable, a particular problem for this device wherein the rattle case is formed of glass.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,831,307 and No. 3,848,353 disclose rattles which are mounted on the exterior of a lure body, with the disadvantages mentioned above in that regard. In addition, they are more complicated than is necessary, and the '353 Patent device has unduly restricted rattle space.
It has also been known to make hard body lures, such as plastic fish-shaped lures, with hollow bodies having movable rattling means therein. Examples have been sold by Bill Lewis Lures, Alexandria, La., under the trademark Rat-L-Trap and by Vortex Lures, Kalispell, Mon., under the trademarks Vortex and Lightnin Darter. Clearly, these require special manufacturing techniques and are not at all versatile or convertible. They cannot be applied to lures with soft bodies.
The present invention addresses the above problems in general. More specifically, however, the present invention seeks to provide a rattling lure, and a selectively emplaceable and removable rattle for lures, which are compatible with modular lure systems.
Such modular lure systems are exemplifed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,839,983, No. 4,672,768, No. 4,573,283 and No. 4,700,503, as well as in a catalog-type publication entitled "Vortex Lures."
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,573,283 and No. 4,700,503 disclose a modular lure system or subsystem wherein spoon-type lure bodies can be fitted with different hard inserts to change their shape, and thus their action in the water, while conversely, a given insert can be fitted with different lure bodies which may have different colors or other characteristics.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,672,768 discloses another system or subsystem comprising lures of the weighted head type having improved means for assembling different body portions selectively with a given weighted head.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,839,983 shows how both of the aforementioned subsystems can be modified to easily and selectively accept fish attractant devices, such as chemiluminescent devices or olfactory devices. In each subsystem, the existing way of interconnecting the flexible portion of the lure with the hard portion also serves to hold the fish attractant in place. In the case of the weighted head-type lure, the fish attractant can be placed in the same cavity with the shank which extends from the weighted head, the soft rear body portion stretching and deforming to accept it. In the spoon-type subsystem, a recess or hole is provided in the hard metal insert, and the fish attractant is confined therein by the surrounding lure body.